Machine for spinning sugar



Dec. 25, 1962 J. BOWE MACHINE FOR SPINNING'SUGAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24, .1961

IlIII/IIII INVEJYTOR.

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Filed April 24. 19s1 INVENTOR. I

, United States PatentG 3,070,045 MACHINE FOR SPINNING SUGAR John Bows, 29 Maple St, Salisbury, Mass. Filed Apr. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 105,179 3 Claims. (Cl. 107-8) This invention relates to improvements in a machine for spinning sugar into cotton candy consisting of a mass of fine filaments of sugar formed when the sugar is melted to the liquid state. Machines which have been employed for this purpose comprise a cylindrical head which is rotated at high speed on a vertical axis. Suitable heating elements are adjacent to the walls of the head to melt the sugar that comes into contact with them. The liquefied sugar is forced outward centrifugally through openings in the walls of the head in fine liquid threads which congeal before reaching the walls of a cylindrical pan which surrounds the spinning head.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved spinning head which is more simply constructed more easily cleaned, and safer to use than the spinning heads which have heretofore been in common use.

A further object of the invention is to increase the capacity of the machine.

For further improved features reference may be had to the following description of the invention and to the drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a cotton candy spinning machine and portions of a casing and the pan for catching the spun sugar;

FIGURE 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of an annular collar shown in section in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, of the spinning head shown in FIGURE 1.

The sugar spinning apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 comprises a spinning head mounted on the upper end of a vertical shaft 12 which is rotated by a motor 14. The motor is mounted on a rigid frame 16 which is supported by a number of helical springs 18 secured to the bottom of a box or casing 20 which encloses the motor. The shaft 12 extends through an opening 22 in the top of the casing 20. Surrounding the opening is a cylindrical housing 24 which extends up almost to the level of the bottom of the head 10 and is provided with a collar 26 which is removable to permit the housing 24 to be lifted clear to provide access to the opening 22. For this purpose the collar 26 is made in two parts hinged together at one point and latched together by a latch 28 at another point as indicated in FIGURE 4. A large cylindrical pan 3d rests on the top of the casing 20 to catch the spun sugar as it flies from the spinning head 10. The pan 3 is preferably integral with the housing 24 so that both can be lifted out together as a unit.

The spinning head 10 is shown in section in FIGURE 5 and comprises three metal plates 5'3, 52, 54 spaced by perforated cylinders 56, 58 and held together in assembled relationship by bolts 60 which are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the head for dynamic balance. The perforated cylinders 55, 58 are reinforced by rings 62 which may be secured by welding or otherwise to the outer surfaces of the cylinders flush with the top and bottom edges thereof. The top plate 50 has a central hole 64 therein through which sugar may be I poured to charge the head when it is spinning. The middle plate 52 also has a central hole 65 through which sugar can be introduced into the lower chamber between 1e plates 52 and 54.

In the two chambers are heating elements 70, 71, each 3,070,045 Patented Dec. 25, 1%62 ICC comprising a resistance wire 72 surrounded by insulation 74 encased in a tubular metal sheath 76. The insulation is of a type which is not affected by high temperatures. Each heating element 70 is bent at its mid point to form two parallel portions. These are bent to form circles fitting against the inner surface of the cylinder 56 or 53, the two circular portions of the element 7!} being spaced so that they are equally spaced from the upper and lower boundaries, respectively, of the effective areas of the cylinder which they touch, and from each other. To hold the heating elements firmly in position, clamping bars St are held against the heating units by screws 32 through the cylinder. The outer face of each bar is notched to fit against the inner surface of the heating elements at the points of contact. The clamping bars 8i) are symmetrically arranged around the axis of the head 19 for dynamic balance.

The head is secured on the upper end of the shaft 12. Below the head are slip rings 86 38, 915 which surround the shaft 12 and are spaced therefrom by insulation 92. Near the shaft 12 and parallel thereto are rods or bolts 94, 96, 98 extending down from the head 10 to respective slip rings, each rod being within an insulatin sleeve 180. The ends 102, 104 of the upper heating element 7 3 are connected by wires 106, 108, bolts 11%, 112 through the middle plate 52, and by wires 114, 116 to the rods 98, 96 respectively, these connecting parts being suitably insulated in the usual manner. The ends of the heating element 71 in the lower compartment are connected by wires 118, 120 to the rods 94, 8 respectively and hence to two of the slip rings.

Brushes 122, 124, 126 bear on the respective slip rings to connect the heating elements 70, 71 in the rotating head 10 into the heating circuits. Each brush 122 is pressed into contact with its" slip ring by a suitable spring 124 which bears against the outer end thereof.

The operation of the machine shown in FIGURE 1 is as follows. The motor 14 is started. When the head 1%) is up to speed, sugar is poured from a cup or a scoop (not shown) preferably having a spout. The sugar is granular, the grains being slightly larger than the diameter of the perforations in the walls of the head 10. The sugar, which is preferably tinted, falls through the openings 64 and 66 into the lower compartment of the head and is thrown against the wall 58 by the rotation of the head. As the lower compartment fills, the combined centrifugal and gravitational forces maintain a central conical hollow in the mass of sugar. When the sugar reaches the edge of the opening 66, sugar of a different color is poured into the opening 64 until the upper compartment is filled except for the central conical void. The heat is then turned on and the heating elements 79 and '71 are energized in alternation.

I claim:

1. A rotatable head for a sugar spinning machine, comprising a circular bottom plate, a circular top plate with a central opening, and a cylindrical side wall of perforated metal, a heating element extending along the inner face of said side wall, said element being a resistance wire encased in heat-resistant insulation and an outer tubular metal sheath, and means for clamping said heating element against said side wall.

2. A rotatable head for a sugar spinning machine, comprising a circular bottom plate, a circular top plate with a central opening, a cylindrical side wall of perforated metal, a mid plate with a central opening spaced between said bottom and top plates to define an upper and lower compartment, and an elongated heating element in each said compartment extending along the side wall thereof, each said heating element consisting of a resistance wire encased in heat-resistant insulation and an outer tubular metal sheath, said Wire being bent back at its mid portion to form two parallel parts spaced from each other and curved to conform to the curvature of said side Wall.

3. A rotatable head for a sugar spinning machine, comprising a circular bottom plate, a circular top plate with a central opening, a middle circular plate with a central opening, a cylindrical side Wall of perforated metal extending from the periphery of the bottom plate to the periphery of the middle plate, a cylindrical side wall of perforated metal extending from the periphery of the middle plate to the periphery of the top plate, a heating element extending along the inner face of each said side wall,

each said element being a resistance Wire encased in a heat-resistant insulation and an outer tubular metal sheath, and means for clamping said heating elements against the respective side Walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

